The Ties that Bind Canada / Des liens qui unissent notre pays

The expansion of railway services allowed for the establishment of railway post offices where postal workers would sort mail on board. This type of rail operation significantly increased the speed and range of mail communication, thereby creating the first “fast mail” system in Canada. Before railways, mail delivery was much slower and sporadic. It relied largely on mail couriers who, depending on the terrain, would travel by foot, snowshoe, canoe or horseback. Thus, the growth of the mail communication network in Canada was directly tied to the expansion of the Canadian railway system.